Lori A. Pakulski

Facilitating Literacy Using Experience Books A Case Study of Two Children With Hearing Loss

Children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) are particularly vulnerable for later reading problems. This article describes the use of experience books, associated with the Language Experience Approach (LEA), as a motivating and linguistically appropriate literacy tool for young children who are DHH. The authors explain how remediation strategies enhance early literacy interactions with children who are DHH and demonstrate how experience books can be used in a way that mitigates potential weaknesses of LEA. A case study is presented that demonstrates how experience books provided opportunities for implicit and explicit language and literacy teaching and learning in one family with children who are DHH.

Children with Minimal Hearing Loss Interventions in the Classroom

Children with minimal hearing loss are often not identified, and the educational implications of their hearing disability are unrealized. Because children with special learning problems have been shown to have a higher incidence of hearing loss than typical learners (Flexer, Millin, & Brown, 1990), special educators should be particularly aware of this significant issue. The purpose of this article is to clarify what is meant by minimal hearing loss (MHL), to summarize issues associated with MHL, and to describe instructional modifications for children with MHL.

Minimal Hearing Loss Is Not Minimal.

(MHL) are at a distinct disadvantage in many classrooms. Let’s repeat that: Children with MHL are at a distinct disadvantage in many classrooms. This article explains why—and shows what we can do about it. Children with MHL cannot hear a soft whisper in a quiet environment (see Figure 1; also, see box, “What Is MHL?”). This level of hearing loss might not seem significant—we do not typically expect children in classrooms to respond to whispered speech. The effect of MHL is significant, however, because children with MHL are challenged to hear spoken language at a distance or in the presence of background noise—conditions present in most classrooms (Crandell & Smaldino, 2000). Undoubtedly, this fact can seriously affect a child’s ability to learn (Bess, 1999; Flexer et al., 1994; Nelson & Soli, 2000). In this article, we examine the needs of students with MHL and highlight practical suggestions that teachers can use to increase the academic success and improve communication interactions with students with MHL.

JUDGMENTS OF SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY AND SPEECH ANNOYANCE BY MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING

14 mothers of children who were deaf or hard of hearing provided magnitude estimation scaling responses for the speech intelligibility and speech annoyance of narrative speech samples produced by children who were deaf or hard of hearing. Analysis indicated that listeners scaled intelligibility and annoyance the same. As samples became more difficult to understand, they also became more annoying to these listeners. Implications for further research are discussed.

The effect of thematically related play on engagement in storybook reading in children with hearing loss

Purpose: This study examined whether theme-related play increased subsequent engagement in storybook reading in preschool children with typical hearing and with hearing loss. Method: This study employed a counterbalanced experimental design. In all sessions, participants engaged in free play first and then were read a storybook. In the experimental condition, the play materials matched the theme of the book, and in the control condition it did not. Conditions were presented in random order. Storybooks had language at the early preschool level and had characters, plots, and illustrations. Twenty-three preschool-aged children participated, 12 with typical hearing and 11 with hearing loss. Engagement during storybook reading was measured using a modified Child Behaviour Rating Scale (CBRS; Mahoney, 1998), consisting of five Items: Attention to Activity, Involvement, Cooperation (Attention subscale), and Affect and Joint Attention (Socio-emotional subscale). Results: Play that matched the theme of the storybook selectively enhanced engagement, particularly the Affect Item and the Socio-emotional Subscale of the CBRS, in participants with hearing loss. Conclusions: Thematically related play prior to reading leads to increased interaction with the reader and more positive emotion during reading for children with hearing loss. Implementing this approach is simple and fun for school and home settings.